Pack Prices: Are They Out Of Control?

[asujbl]

Box of exquisite = give or take 600 bucks

For the same price I can get:


and



and



and



Yes, this is an extreme case of course since i took the most expensive box there is out there and compared it to my PC items but you can basically relate this to pretty much any dollar value and whatever singles you like to have in your collection.

Here is the ironic part though - sure that pack of exquisite at $600 might seem ridiculous to some (and I would personally never pay it) - but I am VERY glad those packs exist for the people that do want them because it allows me to pick up high end singles at the price I want to pay.

If card companies suddenly stopped printing $500+ packs of cards (sort of like the original OP asked) then 3 of the 4 cards you just posted wouldn't exist. It's ironic that alot of people can't imagine spending $500 on 1 single pack - yet when they show the singles they'd buy with that $500 they almost always include cards you can only get by having someone out there busting those packs and boxes.

[xavieronly1]

I've spent too much on boxes over the years, and with prices as ridiculous as they have been I haven't picked up but a few so far this year. What I really hate is the younger collectors who don't have the income to spend. It takes away so much of their selection if they want a box or packs. Money/Greed has ruined the hobby for me.

Totally agree on young collectors issue. PS3 is just $300, and video game is just $60. Compare to 10 years ago on PS2 and video game, they were only $150 and $30. If the price for fun double over last 10 years, I wouldn't expect to see more than $10 for a pack. However, $40 a pack is very typical now.

Good that I don't have kids, and hopefully they are not into this hobby with my money :D

[matt24d1]

Here is the ironic part though - sure that pack of exquisite at $600 might seem ridiculous to some (and I would personally never pay it) - but I am VERY glad those packs exist for the people that do want them because it allows me to pick up high end singles at the price I want to pay.

If card companies suddenly stopped printing $500+ packs of cards (sort of like the original OP asked) then 3 of the 4 cards you just posted wouldn't exist. It's ironic that alot of people can't imagine spending $500 on 1 single pack - yet when they show the singles they'd buy with that $500 they almost always include cards you can only get by having someone out there busting those packs and boxes.

I agree with what your saying for sure. but I just think people are getting tired of spending the money on a 500$ box to turn around and get 20$ in cards. I personally dont have the cash to buy a 500$ box on hopes to land a huge card. So I will stick to buying singles. I every once in awhile will take a stab at a 150$ box but not to often. But hey people with tons of cash can keep buying them so we can keep buying the singles.

[xavieronly1]

Here is the ironic part though - sure that pack of exquisite at $600 might seem ridiculous to some (and I would personally never pay it) - but I am VERY glad those packs exist for the people that do want them because it allows me to pick up high end singles at the price I want to pay.

If card companies suddenly stopped printing $500+ packs of cards (sort of like the original OP asked) then 3 of the 4 cards you just posted wouldn't exist. It's ironic that alot of people can't imagine spending $500 on 1 single pack - yet when they show the singles they'd buy with that $500 they almost always include cards you can only get by having someone out there busting those packs and boxes.

But the thing that bothers me is that, do the company really uses $500 to make those exquisite cards? It seems like they can make those things out with $30 on average and still be able to sell higher price tag because it does not contain any cheap base card.

However, with all those late 1st-round RC and 2nd-round RC, they are as close as base cards already. Most of those guys, you don't see them after 1st year or if they even have some minutes in the game.

[cgb_orl]

We're getting taken because we want to distance ourselves. We want the big gold chain lol. We want better, more expensive in order to say this is the best. And companies are more than happy to provide that. When in reality, isn't memorabilia product independent? Really think about it. In terms of sports memorabilia, how do you insist that it's worth more when what makes the card, the athlete's signature and/or jersey, is the same? In other industries you at least get more sq ft, more inches, more channels, more memory, etc.

[asujbl]

But the thing that bothers me is that, do the company really uses $500 to make those exquisite cards? It seems like they can make those things out with $30 on average and still be able to sell higher price tag because it does not contain any cheap base card.

However, with all those late 1st-round RC and 2nd-round RC, they are as close as base cards already. Most of those guys, you don't see them after 1st year or if they even have some minutes in the game.

But that is the point - the $500 boxes, whether any of us want to purchase them or not, are what create the really high end RC Autos that we all want to collect of our favorite players.

If Exquisite didn't exist then there wouldn't be any really "high end" Joakim Noah RC Autos floating around.

Again - I wouldn't personally spend $500 on a box - but I am very happy they exist because it allows me to spend 50% of that and get a high end RC auto of a player I collect.

[jlcamaroz28]

For sure, I only buy boxes really online and I went to a LCS last weekend to buy some packs I couldn't afford a box on and I could believe what I saw. $10.00 for a pack of 2007/08 Hit Prospects. Are you kidding me?

[Italy61587]

Here is the ironic part though - sure that pack of exquisite at $600 might seem ridiculous to some (and I would personally never pay it) - but I am VERY glad those packs exist for the people that do want them because it allows me to pick up high end singles at the price I want to pay.

If card companies suddenly stopped printing $500+ packs of cards (sort of like the original OP asked) then 3 of the 4 cards you just posted wouldn't exist. It's ironic that alot of people can't imagine spending $500 on 1 single pack - yet when they show the singles they'd buy with that $500 they almost always include cards you can only get by having someone out there busting those packs and boxes.

I agree with you. Some people gotta open up the high end stuff for me to be able to buy the singles for a fraction of the price....this i understand......take away the exquisite example and i'd still have to agree that pack prices are getting to be way too ridiculous. When's the last time anybody here has been to a card shop and paid less than 5 for a pack of a decent product?

[whalechaser]

We're getting taken because we want to distance ourselves. We want the big gold chain lol. We want better, more expensive in order to say this is the best. And companies are more than happy to provide that. When in reality, isn't memorabilia product independent? Really think about it. In terms of sports memorabilia, how do you insist that it's worth more when what makes the card, the athlete's signature and/or jersey, is the same? In other industries you at least get more sq ft, more inches, more channels, more memory, etc.

In the collectibles industry, what makes the card is not the athlete's signature and/or jersey (thoug it is a contributing factor) but the rarity. An expensive (meaning $600 a pack) product should provide rarity. Taking the Noah Exquisite card for example, sure it has a nice design, but there are 225 of those out there. In other words not rare, and doesn't hold value as well.

Let's say if Exquisite limit their RC Auto/Patch production to only 25 cards per rookie and let's say they can have 25 non Auto/Patch RC cards as well for each, it would definitely increase the value of the card.

The point of high end products is that it's SUPPOSE to be rare, but since UD has mass produced high end products it is no longer rare and hence now we can get a exquisite jumbo swatch for $10-20. Honestly, the cards in that pack do not justify a $600 price point.

Low end collecting is more about quantity, High end collecting should be about quality/rarity. However, many times high end people now want quantity too, which ironically diminishes the value of high end cards.

[Qwikflipz]

The only way to buy boxes to get value is to buy a case when it is hot. People say they can't afford it. But you may spend $1200 (seems like a lot), but can easily get back most, if not all. Other than that, I have learned that singles are the way to go.